After a great trip to Knoxville back in December, Kelsey and I are delighted to be invited back so soon for a new collaboration. Along with poets Dawn Coppock and Susan Underwood, we'll be appearing as the group Tennessee Joltwagon and celebrating our Appalachian roots in words and music for two unique performances in one weekend:
At noon on Saturday, February 18th, we'll be on the WDVX Blue Plate Special. The one-hour show broadcasts live before a studio audience at noon EST from the … [Read more...]

Yesterday Chapter 16 published "In Praise of Making Things Up" an interview by Sarah Norris with Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus, who will be reading in Nashville next week at the Nashville Public Library.
Being a big fan of Chapter 16 and of The Night Circus, I shared the article - and a reminder of the reading - on Facebook as soon as I read it.
"I can’t go that night," a friend commented. "I’m bummed."
"I'm not sure I can go, either," I replied. And then, right there … [Read more...]

On Monday, December 19th, poetry and roots music from the edge of Appalachia will be taking to the airwaves and cyberspace when Kelsey and I appear on Knoxville WDVX's Blue Plate Special program along with Tennessee poet laureate Maggi Vaughn and Sweet Fancy Moses, the band that Kelsey's in.
The one-hour show broadcasts live before a studio audience at noon EST from the Knoxville Visitors Center on the corner of Gay Street and Summit Hill Drive in downtown Knoxville. We're hoping a number of … [Read more...]

You may forget the singer, but don’t forget the song, the Carter Family bade listeners of one particularly mournful tune they recorded more than eighty years ago. The writer of those lyrics needn’t have worried. Today the songs of America’s roots music are not only remembered but thriving – in forms that both recreate the authentic sound and remake it in fresh ways – in the widely diverse Americana music genre.
These old songs continue to spark artists of all types, yours truly … [Read more...]

For reasons I won't go into, 2010 has not been my favorite year. But, inspired by the year-end list posted by fellow Tennessee writer Susan Cushman on her Pen and Palette blog, I've realized there have been plenty of things I've enjoyed, especially in the area of books and music. So here are my personal favorites of 2010, which I share in hopes that you might find something here that will inspire you. Happy reading, happy listening, happy following your muse.
POETRY
Favorite new poetry … [Read more...]

KORY WELLS is author of HEAVEN WAS THE MOON, poetry from March Street Press. Winner of the 2016 HeartWood Broadside Series and a two-time finalist for the Rash Award for Poetry, Kory's work appears in numerous print and online publications, including THE SOUTHERN POETRY ANTHOLOGY from Texas Review Press.

In 2017 Kory was selected the inaugural poet laureate of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she's lived most of her life. A software developer for many years, Kory’s now a poetry mentor with MTSU Write and is principal founder and curator of Poetry in the Boro. She also advocates for democracy, afternoon naps, and other good causes.
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Kory and her daughter Kelsey Wells, an old-time musician, collaborate on the album DECENT PAN OF CORNBREAD. Kelsey also plays with the contra dance band duo TURNIP THE BEET. Click the album cover below to sample on bandcamp.